# Nineteen Minutes Past Seven explained — The Golden Triangle

> Chapter companion for The Golden Triangle by Maurice Leblanc.

## What happens

Patrice Belval, unable to sleep, recounts the chaotic events of the past twelve hours to Ya-Bon, revealing his deep anxiety for Coralie's safety. He receives a mysterious telephone call at 7:19 PM from a man who mentions a key, a letter, and an amethyst pendant before cries and a click suggest a murder. Patrice rushes to the Essarès house, where Coralie has been summoned by a servant, and discovers a group of police and magistrates gathered around something shocking.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Hidden Identities

The mysterious telephone call and the hidden key and letter suggest concealed truths and identities.

### Madness and Obsession

Patrice's sleepless anxiety and obsessive need to protect Coralie drive his actions.

## Character check-ins

### Patrice Belval

Unable to sleep, he writes down the events and receives a mysterious telephone call at 7:19 PM, then rushes to the Essarès house.

### Ya-Bon

Roused by Patrice at 6 AM, he listens to Patrice's recounting and later accompanies him to the Essarès house.

### Coralie

Summoned by a servant to the Essarès house, she faints upon seeing something shocking in the library.

### Siméon Diodokis

Present at the Essarès house, he points to Coralie when the servant arrives.

### Essarès Bey

Mentioned in Patrice's recounting as a treacherous banker; his fate is unknown but a shocking sight is discovered.

## Key lines

> He had a continual waking sensation of being oppressed and hunted down, as though he were suffering the terrors of some monstrous nightmare.

Patrice felt constantly pursued and tormented, as if trapped in a nightmare.

_Describes Patrice's psychological state._

> He turned suddenly to Ya-Bon, who was standing depressed by his silence: 'What's the matter with you, putting on that lugubrious air? Of course it's you that throw a gloom over me! You always look at the black side of things … like a nigger! … Be off.'

Patrice blamed Ya-Bon for his own gloom, using a racial slur to dismiss him.

_Shows Patrice's frustration and the period's racial attitudes._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_golden_triangle_se/chapters/vi-nineteen-minutes-past-seven
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_golden_triangle_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_golden_triangle_se/chapters